


The kids aren't alright

by Cats_Dont_Float



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Coming Out, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Humanstuck, M/M, Sexuality Crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-27 01:22:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20752001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cats_Dont_Float/pseuds/Cats_Dont_Float
Summary: Dave Strider becomes a part of a group of kids who cause chaos in their small neighbourhood. A mixture of disasters and life's usual changes force them apart, and Dave tries his best to move on.A few years later, Dave meets an old childhood friend, and allows himself to remember everything he's been trying not to.





	1. Chapter 1

It's a miserable, grey day. Dark clouds drift across the sky, threatening rain to come, and there's a slight cold wind blowing. Sitting alone on a wall in the playground of his school, Dave wraps his arms around his waist and shivers. In front of him, a small group of kids are running around playing some sort of game and shouting loudly. He's never really been a part of their games, and he's happy to just sit and watch them doing whatever the hell it is they're doing. Being alone is nothing knew to him, and he's learnt to enjoy the solitude after all this time. His twin sister Rose say he's got a problem, he says she needs to mind her own business.

As he's sat on the wall, wishing he'd brought a jacket to school with him and staring down at his beat-up shoes, someone approaches him. She walks over so quickly and quietly that he doesn't notice her until he sees her feet at the top of his vision. Looking up, he's greeted by a familiar face, and lets out a sigh of relief to find that it's someone he doesn't actually mind talking to that much. It's Aradia, one of the few people in his class that he actually talks to a lot, and one of the only ones who's even cared enough to try and get to know him. In fact, she's one of the only people in the world he would actually call a friend. She started coming over to his house a few years back to hang out with Rose, and two spent most of their time reading huge book and writing stories that they never let anyone read. Eventually, Dave started speaking to her as well, and it turned out she was pretty cool. Sure, she's always wearing all black, her hair's always messy and she's creepy as hell, but it's in a cool, friendly way. There's always an intensity to her stare, like she knows his every thought and secret, but he's comforted by the knowledge that she's the sort of person who, even if she knew his secrets, would never share them.  
"Hi," Aradia says, hopping up onto the wall beside him and swinging her legs out in front of her. She's wearing a huge, puffy black skirt, her legs bare underneath, and Dave can;t imagine how freezing cold her legs must be in this weather.  
"Sup," Dave says with a nod. It's not a question, just his general greeting. She knows him well enough to know this, and doesn't go into a description of how she's feeling like some people would.  
"You looked bored and alone, and I can't find Rose so," she shrugs, "And Sollux is getting told off for punching Eridan in the face."  
"He punched Eridan?" Dave asks with a smirk, "Nice." Aradia laughs, kicking her ankles back against the wall happily. She stares off into the distance for a while, humming to herself, and then turns to Dave suddenly with a grin spreading across her face. That's never a good sign.  
"Hey! You wanna come to a sleepover?" She asks, "Vriska's throwing one for everyone! She said I could invite someone!"  
"Ugh, can't you ask Rose?" Dave asks.  
"Already did, she said no," Aradia mutters.  
"Gonna be a no from me too, Ara, sorry," he says, "Those guys don't want me there anyway."  
"Yes they do!" She protests, "Vriska was just saying the other day that she thinks you seem cool. Give them a chance to get to know you. Please?" She widens her eyes as much as she can, her best attempt at puppy-dog-eyes expression, and Dave sighs as he realises it's kind of working. "Dave!" She whines, "You need to lighten up! Have some fun for once!"  
The mixture of excitement and hope in her eyes is enough to melt Dave's not-so-cold heart. "Fine," he sighs, "But I'm leaving if they piss me off."  
"Yay!" She grins widely, and throws herself sideways to drape her arms around him in a weird sort of side hug. Dave rolls his eyes behind the shades that always cover his face, but says nothing more until the bell rings, indicating the end of lunch, and he calls a goodbye to her as she quickly rushes away.

Rose refuses to believe that he's actually going to a sleepover, until it's the night that he's supposed to going there. He's got half an hour until he's meant to arrive, and he's racing around his room, trying to make sure he's packed what he needs and that his outfit's okay. Rose is leaning against his bedroom door frame, surveying everything with a small frown.  
"Dave, calm down," she says eventually, "It'll be fine." He looks up at her, halfway through slinging his bag over his shoulder, and pauses for a second, doubting himself. None of the other kids have ever shown an interest in him before, and he's suddenly worried as to why they want him there. There's a chance it's all a set up for a prank or something.... but no, Aradia would never do that to him, right?  
Eventually he's pulled from his nervous thoughts by Rose reminding him that he's already running late, and he heaves his overly heavy bag back up onto his shoulder. His half-sister Roxy's waiting by the front door, swinging her car keys around one finger casually as she sings quietly to herself.  
"Ready to go, Davey?" She asks, reaching out a hand and taking his bag from him, easily lifting its weight.  
"Yeah, sure," he mutters.  
"Ooh, wait," she says, then reaches out, plucks his shades from his face before he can protest, and polishes them on her scarf before handing them back. "Gotta keep yourself look shiny, cool kid," she says with a smirk, opening the door and gesturing in the vague direction of the outside, in what must be her way of telling him to leave. He shakes his head slightly at her as he steps past. Roxy's great, and he really does love her, but she really is strange sometimes.

Roxy's old, slightly broken car is sat outside their house. Dirk helped her paint it bright pink sometime in the last few months, which makes travelling everywhere with Roxy even more embarrassing than usual. She winks at him as she throws his bags into the back of the car, and then climbs into the driver's seat. He gets into the other front seat, hoping no one sees him this stupidly bright car, and then she's laughing as she pulls away at a speed that's far too high to be lawful. At least she's got good music taste, though, and Dave calms his nerves by quietly mumbling along to the songs she's playing instead. Roxy joins in, singing loudly, unashamedly and completely off key, the wind rushing through the open windows masking her voice slightly. By the time she parks outside Vriska's house, both Roxy and Dave are laughing loudly, and he's feeling a little less nervous about this whole sleepover nonsense.  
"Now, Davey," Roxy says sternly as they get his stuff back out of the car, "If any of these kids are assholes, you call me, okay? And me and Dirky will come beat their asses."  
"I don't doubt it," he grins, eagerly fist-bumping her when she holds out her hand. Luckily, she's smart enough not to hug him like usual, aware that there's already a cluster of kids watching them from the doorway of the house.  
"Have fun little dude," she says as she gets back into the car. He raises a hand in a small wave, and then she drives away and he's left alone on the pavement.

When he turns, Vriska Serket herself is heading towards him, wearing an uncharacteristically wide smile.  
"Strider," she says with a small nod, "Finally I get you to one of my parties." He narrows her eyes at her slightly, though she can't see it from behind his shades.  
"Yeah," he mutters, choosing to look down at his shoes instead of making eye contact. There's a small rock on the sidewalk, which he pretends to be super interested in, rolling it around with the toe of his shoe.  
"Cool, come inside," she says, then takes his bag from him and marches off inside. He stares for a second, aware he's sweating slightly in his nervousness, and then follows after her.

Vriska Serket is the most popular girl in their grade, there's no denying it. She dyed a few streaks of blue into her black hair a few months back, and since then it's been a sort of trend. Even Aradia had some red in her hair at one point, though she soon hacked it out with a pair of safety scissors in the middle of class, earning her a detention and a harsh lecture from her mom. Vriska's good at manipulating people, Dave knows that much, and yeah, he's a little scared of her. He's got good reason to be. She once chased Tavros around the playground for the whole of recess with a sharpened stick, threatening to kill him, in some form of pirate roleplaying game of her own creation. The poor guy could barely get his wheelchair to go fast enough to get away from her. Luckily Gamzee jumped into to save him at the last moment. So he suppose he's got every right to be a little worried as he steps into her house. Because literally anything could be about to happen to him, and a this point, nothing she could do would surprise him, not after the shit he's seen.  
Luckily, Vriska ditches his bag on top of a pile of them near the door, and then disappears off into the house without another word. So Dave just wanders in the direction of the living room, following the sound of loud voices and laughing. It's busy in there, people crowded on chairs, and sat in small groups on the floor. Vriska's older sister, Aranea, has a few friends from older grades with her, and they're sat on one sofa, talking and cackling loudly, one of them painting Aranea's nails. It doesn't take him long to find Aradia. She's squished onto a sofa with Eridan and Feferi, with Sollux draped across all three of their laps, his head on Aradia's knee. She raises one hand and waves excitedly as she sees him walk in, and he lets out a small sigh of relief, quickly stepping over towards her.  
"Hey," he says, standing awkwardly in front of her.  
"Hi," she grins, "You know Fef and Eridan, right? And Sollux?"  
"Yeah, hi," Dave mumbles, waving at them slightly. Feferi waves far too excitedly, her hand almost smacking Eridan in the face, and in return he shoves her shoulder. The two dissolve into a giggly playfight, and Aradia rolls her eyes at the both of them as Sollux is almost thrown off of their laps.  
"Kan's in the kitchen, I told her that I'd send you to say hi," Aradia says.  
"Oh, Kanaya's here?" Dave asks. Kanaya's Rose's best friend, and he knows her well enough to feel comfortable around her, so he takes that as an excuse to leave the loud living room.

It's luckily a lot calmer in the kitchen, with only a few people hanging around in there. Kanaya's stood by the window, sipping pepsi from a can and talking quietly to a short boy who's practically drowning in an oversized sweater. She smiles slightly as he approaches, and turns away from the boy she's talking to.  
"Dave," she says warmly, putting her can down and pulling Dave into a hug. She's very affectionate, but Dave's pretty used to it by now. Kanaya's dressed overly nicely at usual, in a small black dress, hair combed into a perfect shape. As she pulls away, she gestures to the grumpy looking boy next to her. "This is Karkat," she says, "He doesn't want to be here."  
"Yeah, neither do I really. Aradia managed to convince me," Dave mutters.  
"So you also got suckered into this hellfest by a friend you thought you could trust," Karkat says, shooting a glare up at Kanaya.  
"Hush," she tells him, patting him once on the head. "Why don't you two hang out here if you both apparently don't want to be here?" she suggests, "I'm going to go and see if my sister's stopped being embarrassing." And then she's disappearing, calling out for someone called Porrim.

"So," Karkat mutters, staring down at his feet and scuffing the toe of shoe on the floor, "Dave, right?"  
"Yeah," Dave says. Then they both lapse into silence again. Vriska's talking to two other people on the other side of the kitchen, a weirdly muscular kid and a girl just as short as Karkat who's wearing a cat tail and ears. He stares at them for a few seconds, trying to remember their names and then gives up. "You know anyone here?" He asks Karkat.  
"Yeah," Karkat says, "They're all in our class, dumbass, of course I know them."  
"Huh," Dave mutters, "I don't."  
"Yeah, because you fucking ignore everyone and don't speak to anyone," Karkat says, "Everyone knows that. You're like infamous for not being friends with anyone."  
"Not true, I have friends!" Dave retorts.  
Karkat smirks. "Yeah, whatever."  
They stand around in silence for a few moments, and then there's a shout of, "Terezi's here!" From the living room that causes Vriska to quickly rush from the room. Ah, Dave knows who she is. The blind kid from his class who licked someone's face once. Karkat instantly brightens.  
"You like Terezi?" Dave asks.  
"Yeah," Karkat says, "She's... nice... Not like that! She's just a good friend." he blushes, and it's Dave's turn to smirk.  
"You've got a crush dude."  
"Fuck off."

Karkat heads into the living room after a while to see what's going on, drawn in by Terezi's presence apparently. Dave doesn't like being left alone, not liking how Vriska turns to watch him, and so he follows after Karkat like a lost dog. Terezi's already sat on the floor in the middle of a circle of people, grinning excitedly, her stupid red glasses on her face as usual.  
"Soooo," she says, stretching out her arms, "We should get this party started!"  
"What are you thinking?" Vriska asks with a grin, sitting down on a pillow by Terezi's side.  
"Oh, you know what I'm thinking," Terezi grins, "Truth or dare!"  
Vriska nods with a smile. "Everyone in here!" She shouts, "Truth or dare! NOW!"  
And that's when things get really chaotic.

Everyone gathers on the floor, even though there's not quite enough space for all of them. Terezi starts it by daring Vriska, and they go around like that for a while. Dave feels safe for a while, as no one's really paying attention to him and he can just sit back and watch the others make fools of themselves. Until suddenly it's Aradia's turn and she turns to him with an evil grin that makes him terrified. She ends up daring him to eat a spoonful of cinnamon, and he chokes for ten minutes afterwards in front of all of them. Luckily, they're distracted from this by Karkat choosing dare and Vriska taking things way too far.  
"Karkat," she says, "I dare you to kiss Terezi." Her grin is even more evil than Aradia's was earlier. Karkat has, for some reason, spent the entire time sat on the back of a sofa, feet resting on the actual seat part of it, and as soon as Vriska says this he turns, jumps off the back of the sofa and runs.  
"Get him!" Someone (Dave thinks it's the cat ears girl) shouts, and several people start chasing after him. Vriska manages to corner Karkat and grab him, hauling him back into the room. She's stronger than him, and Karkat can do nothing but panic as he's dragged towards Terezi. He glances over Vriska's shoulder, catches Dave's eyes, and mouths, "help" at him. Dave sighs, but because he feels like he's got to do something, he gets to his feet, grabbing a nearby pillow, and runs at them. He swings the pillow to smack it into the back of Vriska's head, and she stumbles away from Karkat in shock, giving him the time he needs to escape to the kitchen. Vriska stares for a second, and Dave's starting to fear for his life. But then she, along with several others, start to laugh.  
"Nice job," She practically wheezes, "You really are a laugh. Welcome to the group." Dave grins widely. And then Terezi, grumbling slightly that Karkat didn't do his dare, starts to pick on Sollux and Eridan with her dares instead.  
Dave takes that moment to slip into the kitchen, and finds Karkat lingering by the window. He jumps slightly as he hears Dave approach, but then relaxes slightly as he recognises him.  
"Hey, thanks for that," Karkat sighs, "Really didn't wanna kiss her."  
"Yeah, it's fine," Dave mutters, "Uhm, why not? If you don't mind telling me."  
Karkat sighs, rubbing one hand roughly over his face, and then turns to look at him fully. "I've never kissed anyone before," he sighs, "A lot of the others have, and so I just lie and say I have. Didn't really want that to be my first kiss, you know?"  
"Yeah, I get it," Dave says. "I've never kissed anyone before either, if that helps."  
Karkat smiles. "Yeah, it does," he says, "Thanks. You know, I'm not even thirteen yet. Don't think I really need to be dating anyone or anything yet."  
Dave grins. He's glad he's not the only one who's not obsessed with relationships. "Yeah, I think you're right," he says with a nod. They stand there for a while, listening to the sound of people squealing and giggling from the other room.  
"Let's make a pact," Karkat says out of nowhere, "We both save the other from awkward situations. Because I've got a feeling this night's gonna get so much worse."  
"Sure," Dave says, and takes Karkat's outstretched hand to give it one shake. "Let's go fuck up this game of truth or dare," he adds with a grin, and the two hurry back into the living room with a laugh.

The group continue to play truth or dare for far too long, and Dave and Karkat do have to help each other out a few times. By the time Vriska brings the game to an end and puts a movie on instead, Dave and Karkat have formed a bond that Dave, in his childish innocence, believes will last forever. Although he does change his opinion on the guy a while later when he starts crying over the movie Vriska's chosen. Dave watches Karkat with a roll of his eyes, but laughs slightly, and even lets Karkat rant to him about how beautiful romcoms are for a while.  
Both of them decide not to join in with the game of spin the bottle that Terezi starts a while later, and during this time Karkat sits in a corner with him and tells him about everyone in the room. There's Tavros, who's paralysed and in a wheelchair but tries to stay positive despite everything; Nepeta (the cat ears girl) who's a massive fangirl and loves writing fanfictions; Gamzee who's a juggalo, paints his face like a clown and is weirdly frightening; Equius, who's scarily strong and Nepeta's best friend; and there's Meenah, Feferi's older sister who's well known for breaking a lot of people's hearts. Dave's quite interested by all of this, and realises that the other people here are actually really quite interesting. Maybe he should have tried a little harder to make friends for the last few years.

By about 3am, a lot of people are starting to fall asleep. The older kids have gone upstairs to Aranea's room, leaving the younger one's behind. Vriska and Terezi have made a pact to try and stay up all night, but eventually Terezi passes out, and Vriska turns her attention to making slightly mean remarks to Tavros. She's instantly silenced by Gamzee, and she turns away to finally go to sleep. Dave and Karkat are somehow some of the last ones awake. It's far too hot in the living room with so many people in there, and Dave doesn't exactly want to sleep in a big pile of people he doesn't really know, she him and Karkat wander back to the kitchen. Kanaya's sat at the table in the kitchen with her sister, Porrim, talking quietly. Kanaya looks ridiculously tired, and Porrim's talking about feminism for some reason. The back door in the kitchen is open slightly, letting in a cold breeze.  
"Wanna go outside?" Karkat asks, stepping towards the door.  
"Yeah, sure," Dave mutters. Anything to get away from the mass of people in the house. They step out onto a patio, and find a small wooden bench there that they both sit down on.  
"Enjoying tonight?" Karkat asks.  
"Yeah, I actually am," Dave says, "Didn't think I would, but it's quite fun."  
"Good," Karkat smiles, "You need some friends. Glad you've got us now."  
Dave smiles back at him, even though he's sure it's barely visible in the darkness outside. "Thanks."

They spend hours in the garden, just talking, until Dave knows more about Karkat than he ever thought it possible to know about one person. Karkat tells him about his irritating older brother Kankri, and his dad who's not around a lot and is apparently dating Nepeta's mom. He even finds out about Karkat's mom, who died when he was a baby. He gets slightly teary talking about her. In return, Dave offers Karkat small details about his own life, telling him all about Dirk's puppets and swords, and the parties that Roxy throws, and that one time she hacked into the school's computer system just for a laugh. He manages to change the subject when Karkat asks him about his parents; that's something he's not quite ready to share yet.  
It gets really cold out there at around 4am, and they're huddled together for warmth when Kanaya eventually drags them inside at half five. Then they eventually fall asleep sitting at the kitchen table, and when Dave wakes up at around ten, Karkat's still asleep, slumped sideways against his shoulder. Once he's shaken Karkat awake, the two busy themselves gathering their things together.  
"Hey," Vriska says, walking over to Dave, "You've gotta hang out with us again. You're a cool dude."  
"Oh, thanks," Dave mutters. He glances over at Karkat, who's grumbling angrily to himself as he searches for his toothbrush. "I will hang out again, definitely," Dave says, because if it means he gets to hang out with Karkat again then he's happy with it.  
"Good," she grins. Then she's rushing off to wave goodbye to some people. Dave spends the next hour or so with Karkat and Kanaya, talking to the two of them and laughing at Karkat's constant grumbling about everything. As Porrim drags Kanaya and Karkat away, telling them they won't be getting a ride from her if they don't hurry up, Karkat hastily shoves a piece of paper with phone number scrawled on it into Dave's hand. And as he gets his stuff ready so he can walk home with Aradia in a while, Dave decides having friends maybe isn't as bad as he always thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This just seems cute and fluffy at the moment I know, but it's about to get real dramatic because I apparently can't go three minutes without writing angst.


	2. Chapter 2

It turns out school is much more fun with friends. Now Dave spends his lunch breaks playing ridiculous games with his friends, often chosen by Vriska. He even manages to convince Rose to meet with them sometimes, though she refuses to join in with their "childish nonsense" most of the time. After school, most days they stay out on the streets for a while, playing games, knocking on doors and running or just roaming around because it makes them feel grown up. Nepeta, Terezi and Vriska write out ridiculously detailed plots for role play games, and force the others to play with them. Somehow Dave ends up playing as a god of time, which is actually a pretty cool character. What's not cool is that Terezi decides his character should suffer multiple deaths, and delights in poking him in the stomach constantly with sharp sticks and declaring him 'dead'. It's pretty obvious why this group are so notorious in the neighbourhood; chaos seems to follow them wherever they go.  
And it turns out that they don't just cause chaos outside of school. Vriska sets up pranks in classes all the time, pranking the teachers and their classmates. Not a day goes by when someone doesn't end up in detention, and Vriska even plans (and successfully carries out) a break out from detention. Everyday seems to be more ridiculous than the last, and Dave loves it.

But, despite every new friend Dave has made over the last few weeks, he still holds a special place in his heart for Karkat. Ever since the sleepover, they'e been texting back and forth almost constantly. Dave likes to bother Karkat with memes, even during classes, and Karkat likes to go on long rants about movies he likes and the books he reads. Dave actually pays attention to it, loving every single little detail about Karkat. He's never had a friend like Karkat before; he's grumpy and rude, but there's a quiet, funny side to him that Dave really loves.  
He goes over to Karkat's house a few times in the weeks after the sleepover. They watch movies and work on homework together, and have fun winding up Karkat's brother Kankri, who Karkat says he hates, though Dave's seen the two of them being nice to them before. Kankri is annoying, though. He likes to lecture the both of them at length for being too loud, or too young to be swearing, and plays violin loudly at all points of the day. And Karkat and Kankri's weird relationship is so funny to Dave. Karkat's house is nice, too. Huge, white and new, with wide, bright rooms. Everything's neat inside, with clean furniture, and picture-perfect family photos everywhere.  
At some point during those weeks, it's Karkat's thirteenth birthday. He's one of the youngest in their grade, and the others tease him about it relentlessly. But Dave makes sure to buy him his favourite candy, and a card with a cat on the front that he addresses 'to KarCAT'. Karkat pretends to be angry, but Dave sees him holding the card tightly in his hands and smiling to himself a while later when he thinks no one's looking.  
Mostly though, they spend whole evenings playing video games until Dave finally gets called home by one of his siblings.  
"Feferi and Eridan have broken up again," Karkat says one night as he hits Dave with a blue shell on Mario Kart.  
"Fuck you!" Dave declares, before replying, "I didn't even know they were dating again."  
"Ugh, you know them," Karkat huffs, easily taking first place, "Always on and off. Ridiculous. That's why I'm glad I can't be bothered with relationships." The game ends, with Karkat as the winner, and he sticks his tongue out at Dave with a laugh.  
"Whatever dude, I let you win," Dave protests. "So, like, you always say you hate relationships, but... you have a crush on Terezi, right?"  
"Uh, I think I used to," Karkat sighs, "But that was just because people kept telling me I had to have a crush on someone. And, I don't know, I thought Terezi was cool so I figured she'd be good enough."  
Dave snorts. "Don't think you're supposed to call your crush 'good enough', dude," he laughs, "Pretty sure that's just kinda liking someone as a friend, not like romantic shit."  
"Yeah, I know," Karkat says, "Better to say you've got a crush than to admit you don't even know what it's like to have one though."  
"I suppose," Dave huffs. He fiddles with his controller for a second, clicking the buttons pointlessly, before asking, "Rematch?"  
"You're on!" Karkat grins.

Eventually, though, Karkat wants to come round to Dave's house. He asks a few times, never pushing it too far when Dave refuses though. Then one day, when they've got another video game night planned but Kankri brings friends round and so they can't go to Karkat's house, Dave gives in.  
"I guess you can come round to mine," he says quietly as they sit together on the wall in the playground, swinging their legs sideways to knock them together and laughing as they do so.  
"We don't have to, if you don't want to," Karkat says, "We'll just rearrange it."  
"No, it's fine," Dave shrugs, because he wants so much to just be a normal kid who can have friends come around to his house. He sighs. "Just... my family is weird, okay? And you're house is really nice, and mine's... not really. Just, don't be surprised if any weird shit happens."  
Karkat laughs in a friendly way. "Dude, have you seen my fucking family?" He asks," We're not exactly normal. It's fine, just don't worry about it."  
"Okay," Dave says, and allows himself to smile slightly. "Meet you outside school at the end of the day."  
Karkat smiles back at him. "I will!" He says. He gets up to leave as the bell rings, elbowing Dave playfully as he goes.

They walk to Dave's house together after school. Dave's mostly silent, biting nervously at his thumbnail, worrying about how Karkat will react to his house and his family. Rose is walking with them, and watching the two of them curiously as she walks with them. When they get to the house, she lets herself in with her keys, says nothing to them, and heads into the house quietly, mostly ignoring the calls from the older siblings within the house.  
"Uh, welcome to mi casa I guess," Dave says with a nervous laugh. Karkat stops once he's a few steps into the house, and looks around with a smile.  
"It's nice," he says, and what shocks Dave is that it's obvious Karkat means it. There's a small smile on his face, he's peering curiously into the house, and seems eager to look around more.  
Before Dave can say anything, there's a scream of "Davey!" and Roxy rushes out of the kitchen, a blur of pink and white clothing and curly blonde hair. She pulls him into a tight hug, and Dave lets her for a second, but then pushes her away.  
"Hey Rox," he says, "This is my friend Karkat."  
Roxy looks Karkat up and down with a grin. "Hi Karkat, I'm Roxy!" she smiles, bouncing on her toes in excitement, "Wow, Davey, finally bringing friends round, huh? Well, you boys have fun, I'll make dinner for you! You like pizza, Karkat?"  
"Uh, yeah," he mumbles, looking slightly overwhelmed.  
"Great!" She grins, and then bounces away.  
Dave smiles, watching as she walks away for a second, and then gestures vaguely towards the stairs. "We can go up to my room," he mutters awkwardly. He wanders upstairs, and Karkat follows him eagerly.

Karkat doesn't say anything about Dave's family until later, when they've eaten pizza and played video games for far too long.  
"Hey, can I ask something?" He asks, and when Dave nods he continues, "Why were you so scared for me to come here?"  
"I don't know," Dave mutters, picking up a pillow from the end of his bed and nervously picking at the corner of it as he tries to think of what to say. "You just... I know you don't really get along with your family but... you have a dad, you know? And your family are just kinda normal, and your house is really nice. But I don't have parents... well I do but we don't talk about them, and my house is small, and some people are scared of my older brother Dirk. I just... didn't want to scare you away." He's rambling at this point, looking down at his hands instead of at Karkat.  
When Dave's finished speaking, Karkat lets out a sigh before replying. "Dave, I don't care about what family or house you have," he says with a small smile, "You could live alone in a cardboard box and I'd still want to be friends with you. And also, I haven't been here long or seen much of your family, but I think your house and family are cool. I can see where you get your cool kid side from." He laughs, nudging Dave with his elbow slightly, and Dave lets out his own small laugh.  
"Thanks," Dave sighs, "Means a lot." Karkat grins, and picks up his video game controller again. Dave grins seeing that, and picks up his own, unpausing the game, glad for the distraction.

A month or so after that, summer comes around. The days get longer, the weather gets hotter, and the group start spending more time playing outside in the streets.  
"Hey," Vriska says, approaching Dave in the school cafeteria at lunch one day, "Group trip to the beach this weekend, you in?"  
Dave grins. "Sounds good," he says with a nod. He looks over at Karkat, the only other person he's sitting with, and is glad to see that the other boy nods too, though reluctantly.  
"Cool!" Vriska says, already turning away. "See you around, cool kid!" She calls over her shoulder as she walks, "You too, kittycat!"  
Karkat grumbles at the nickname, but cheers up when Dave turns to him to discuss plans for the beach trip.

The beach is a half an hour walk from their home town, and the group travel their together early on the Saturday morning. Vriska leads the group, talking and laughing loudly with Terezi as she goes, and the others all hurry after her. Dave doesn't fail to notice the looks they get from a few local people in the area, who probably know full too well the sort of chaos that tends to get caused when the whole group go out together.  
He walks towards the back of the group with Karkat, staying away from the busiest part of the group. They, like everyone, are carrying bags of things for the day, and they're both excited. Dave hasn't been to the beach in years, and Karkat says that apparently trips to the beach with his family are never fun. Aradia drops back from the front of the group to walk with the two of them as well, barely able to stop herself from skipping excitedly.  
They reach the beach eventually, and Aradia races ahead onto the sand. Karkat and Dave follow after her with a small laugh. After a few moments of stumbling through the sand, Dave kicks his shoes off to walk barefoot, and Karkat copies his actions with a grin. Then they drop their stuff on a pile on the sand with everyone else's bags, and race down to the water.  
The water's freezing cold, and Karkat squeals as the two of them rush into the waves. He instantly tries to rush away, and Dave grabs onto his arm and pulls him backwards.  
"Fuck you!" Karkat screams, kicking at the water so droplets of it are sent flying towards Dave's face. Dave bends down, scoops up a handful of water to throw it back towards Karkat, and the two of them throw water back and forth for the next few minutes.  
"Hey guys!" A voice shouts, disturbing their fight, and Dave looks up to see Feferi approaching them, wading gracefully through the water. Here, just like everywhere, she looks perfectly in place, beautiful and serene as she smiles. Her bikini is bright pink and blue against her dark skin, and her long, curled hair is up in a bun on top of her head. Dave can understand why the boys are always fighting over her, but for him, he's never seen her as anything other than a friend.  
"Hi Fef," he smiles.  
"Good to see you having fun, boys," she says with a grin. She circles her foot around, watching the water swirl around her ankles, and then looks up as Nepeta bounds over excitedly. As she does so, she sends water spraying everywhere, and both Dave and Karkat flinch backwards away from it. As the two girls start to splash around in the water, Karkat steps away from them, and drags Dave away with him.

For the next few hours, the whole group makes the most of the heat of the summer day and the mostly empty beach, having more fun than they've had in ages. Vriska and Kanaya lay on towels they've laid out on the sand, sunglasses over their faces and eyes closed beneath them as they sunbathe. For once, actually, Dave doesn't feel out of place with his shades on. Meanwhile, most of the others are racing around in the water, splashing water at each other, squealing, and daring each other to jump in the waves or push each other over. A few of them, Eridan and Equius mostly, actually do serious swimming whilst the others muck around.  
Eventually, as it gets later in the day, it starts to get a little colder, and most of them leave the water to dry and eat the food they've brought with them. Karkat and Dave sit on one towel and share a few bags of snacks they've taken with them. As they eat, Dave watches Aradia and Sollux chasing each other around on the sand, laughing and lunging at each other. Eventually Sollux knocks her to the ground, and the two roll around together for a while.  
"Hey," Karkat says, tapping Dave's shoulder, "You like her, right?" He nods towards Aradia, who's standing up and shaking sand from her skirt.  
Dave thinks about that for a second. Him and Aradia have been friends for years now, and the two of them have always gotten along now. She was the first person to really be his friend, and yeah, he loves her, he guesses, but not in that way. Not in the way that Sollux clearly does love her.  
"Nah," he says, with a small shrug. "Aradia's just... a good friend."  
"Huh, okay," Karkat replies, taking a small, thoughtful bite of his food.  
"Wait, why do you care?" Dave asks, starting to realise that Karkat seemed to have asked for a reason.  
"Oh, I was just wondering," he says, waving the question off, "Isn't that what friends do, ask about crushes and stuff?"  
Dave laughs softly, laying back on the sand and not caring that sand gets into his hair. "I guess," he says. But it's not like Karkat to ask about things like crushes. In fact, he really doesn't talk about relationships much. And Dave can't, for the life of him, work out what Karkat's thinking as he watches the look on his face.

They stay at the beach until evening starts to fall, watching as the sun sets, changing the colour of the sky. The clouds and sky are cast in different shades of pink, orange and purple, and they all stop to stare at it for a few seconds. A few people take photos on their phones, ready to be posted on their social medias later on.  
It gets colder, and people pull on extra layers of clothing and jackets, before starting to get their things ready to leave. Dave sits on the sand for a little longer, with Aradia on one side of him and Karkat on the other. He glances over at Aradia, at her wide eyes and smile as she stares up at the sky, and then at Karkat, who's got his knees tucked up to his chest and is drawing patterns in the sand with one hand. Yeah, he thinks as he sits there, he really does love his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're all still enjoying this fluffy nonsense, coz it's about to get so sad


	3. Chapter 3

Summer vacation rolls around, and pretty much everyday for the first few weeks is spent in the local park, at the beach or hanging out at someone's house whilst their parents are at work. A few people in the group go away on vacations with their families, but there are always people to hang out with.  
One night, when it's warm and a few of them have been hanging out together during the day, they sit out on the grass in Aradia's garden. It's a clear night, without a single cloud in the sky, and they look up at the stars as they sit there.  
"You reckon there are aliens out there?" Aradia asks, laying out on her back, hair fanned out on the grass behind her.  
"Yeah, course," Sollux replies. He's got his hand resting gently on top of Aradia's, and the two glance over to smile at each other occasionally. It's sickeningly sweet, really.  
"Nah," Eridan says, "I think we're all alone here."  
"I think aliens are real," Dave says with a smile, looking back upwards at the distant stars, "They're probably cooler than us too." Karkat laughs softly, mumbling in agreement with Dave. The rest of the small group laugh too, and then silence falls over the garden. 

Summer seems to get even better with every day. Dave's used to spending most days of summer vacation alone in his room, mixing new music tracks or playing video games with people online. But this summer he spends everyday with friends. Different friends each time, and almost never the entire group, as everyone's busy with their family at some points in the summer. But still, it's some of the best fun Dave's ever had.  
They go to the beach a lot more after that first successful trip. Aradia produces a metal detector at one point, and they spend the entire day sweeping the beach for loose coins and scraps of metal that Vriska declares 'pirate treasure'. On other days, they have picnics in the local park, play games there and listen to music while they sit in the shadows of trees. They go around to each other's houses a lot, and Dave gets to know the people in the group that he isn't as close to, like Gamzee, who's still super weird to him but somehow has good music taste, and Tavros who turns out to really love having rap battles with Dave.

Summer feels like freedom. They feel grown up, free from school and any responsibilities, and as if they've got the whole world at their hands, with thousands of opportunities to have fun.  
Life feels like it can't get any better. And then everything crumbles around them.

Aradia dies.  
She's hit by a van four days after her fourteenth birthday, and dies before she can even be taken to a hospital. Dave's at home when it happens, showing off the newest song he's written to Roxy and her girlfriend, Calliope, when suddenly his phone rings. It's Vriska, and though she doesn't call him a lot, he doesn't think anything of it until he answers it to hear the most uncharacteristically Vriska thing he's ever heard.  
Vriska's sobbing and screaming into the phone, and in the background he can hear other people crying too. He hears the words 'Aradia' 'van' and 'dead' and leaves the house before any of his family can even ask him where he's going. He's barely even at the bottom of the road before Rose is racing after him, tears pouring down her face; she got a phone call too.  
When they get there, Aradia's being taken away, and they never see her again. Vriska's sat on the edge of the sidewalk, clutching at her mouth and heaving as she sobs. There are a few others there too: Sollux, Terezi and Nepeta, who were there when it happened and are all staring ahead in shock, and there are others appearing as they hear the news. A lot of them rush to comfort Sollux, but Dave's not sure he can face them just yet, and wanders over to sit down next to Vriska.  
"Hey," he says, choking on the word very slightly. Vriska looks up, but says nothing, rubbing at her face roughly with the palm of her hand. Within a few moments, she struggles up to her feet.  
"I'm so fucking sorry," she says, before she turns and hurries away, ignoring the people that call after her. Dave watches her go, helpless to do anything. Then there's a crowd of adults trying to get the kids to clear out, and Dave doesn't have time to talk to any of the others before they're being pulled away by parents or any adult who just wants to get the kids away from the scene. There's blood on the road, Dave notices. He stares at it blankly for a while.  
Then Roxy appears through the crowd, and Rose instantly rushes over to her. Roxy puts a hand out, hugs Rose to her side, and presses a kiss to the top of her head gently. Then she's moving over to sit down by Dave's side.  
"Hey Davey," she says quietly, holding out an arm. And for once, he doesn't care about looking cool. He huddles against her side and cries into her shoulder as she hugs him. Rose sits down on her other side, and three huddle together there for a long time. There's still blood on the road. Her blood is still on the road. It makes him feel sick.

Roxy takes the two of them home a few minutes later. Dave's glad to leave, but some part of him doesn't want to go. He doesn't want to leave the last place that Aradia ever was. He runs inot his bedroom the second they get home, and seconds later hears Rose's own bedroom door slam shut as well. He's stopped crying at this point, and stares blankly ahead up at his ceiling for a long time. Then he smacks a pillow over his face and screams into it for what feels like hours.  
His screaming's disrupted by someone heading into his bedroom, and he feels his bed move under him as they sit down gently. He removes the pillow, and blinks blearily at Dirk, who's staring down at him with a sad smile. He's even removed his shades for once, a clear sign that he's actually willing to show emotion for once.  
"Hey little man," he says quietly, "How you doing?" Dave says nothing, and just sniffs, rubbing at his nose with the end of his shirt's long sleeve. There's a quiet knock at the door then, and Dave expects it to be Rose or Roxy that comes in, but it's not. It's Dirk's boyfriend, Jake.  
"Hey chap, Roxy sent me in to give you this" he says, stepping in with a mug in his hands, "I'm sorry about your friend." He passes the mug over to Dave, and he takes it eagerly, clutching the warmth of it in his hands. Jake stands there awkwardly for a few seconds, obviously feeling out of place in the situation.  
"Thanks," Dave mutters quietly, before taking a sip of the tea. Jake's a good guy, he thinks, and he's almost glad that he's there, actually. Jake nods slightly in Dave's direction, leans down to press a kiss to Dirk's forehead, and then leaves the room quickly.  
Dirk sits with Dave for a while more, moving a little closer to his brother's side and mumbling softly to him occasionally. Eventually, he gets up and leaves, ruffling Dave's hair as he goes.

Roxy forces everyone to gather in the living room for a group dinner that night, in an attempt at drawing Rose and Dave out of their rooms. It works. There's slightly too many of them in the house, with both Calliope and Jake still there, and they all have to cluster onto the sofa together. Calliope and Roxy try to keep the conversation going for a while, until it's obvious that neither Dave or Rose really want to speak, and the group falls into silence. And then, when they're done eating, the two siblings lock themselves into the room again.

The funeral's a few weeks later. Aradia's family decide they don't want any of the kids going. They say it's because a funeral is no place for children, but Dave knows deep down that they blame them for Aradia's death that day. She wouldn't have been on that road if she hadn't been playing one of Vriska's games, after all.  
And so, as always, Vriska has a plan. Two days after the funeral, the group all get together, and hike together up a nearby hill, to the cemetery where Aradia's been buried.  
It's weird up there; old, and creepy, and dark in shadow due to the trees everywhere. Aradia would have loved the place, Dave thinks, and the thought makes him feel just a little better as he makes his way through the rows of gravestones to hers.  
They gather around the grave, sitting down on the grass and breaking out snacks and drinks. A picnic, like the ones on the beach that she loved so much. But there's just too much sadness in the air. Sollux clings to the gravestone for the whole time, and never stops crying, and many of the others cry, calling out goodbye's or sorry's to her.Rose sits, teary eyed by the headstone for a long time, a heavy book that both her and Aradia had apparently been reading together clutched in her hands. And though this was supposed to be a way to remember her in a sort of happy way, Dave can't stand it.  
The girl he knew had wide eyes, an excited smile and a love for life. She was loud, wanted the best for people, and made every day into an adventure and a chance to have fun. The girl he knew wasn't a hard headstone in a row of other graves. Sitting there, he feels her absence more than ever before.

Karkat, who's been sat, staring at the gravestone with blank, empty eyes since they arrived, seems to notice as Dave gets progressively more quiet and withdrawn over the day. And so he gets up, moves to the back of the group where Dave's sat, and sits down by his side.  
"I'm so sorry," he murmurs quietly, "I know she meant a lot to you."  
"I loved her," Dave sighs, wiping away one tear, "Not in a romantic way. I just loved her as a friend. I really did." Karkat lets out a tiny hum of understanding, and reaches out, taking hold of one of Dave's hands. And Dave doesn't question it, just tightens his hold on Karkat's hand and stares ahead for as long as he can manage, until he decides he needs to go home, because he just can't stand it anymore.  
"I'm gonna go," he says, getting to his feet and letting go of Karkat's hand. Karkat gets up too.  
"I'll walk back with you," Karkat says quietly, "I'm done here." And so the two of them say goodbye to the rest of the group, who are all still busy with their grief, and turn to leave the cemetery.

"I miss her so much," Dave says as they walk along the street. A woman gives them a sad look, like she knows, and Dave sighs.  
"I know, I miss her too," Karkat replies, "She was just so..."  
"Yeah, I know."

He doesn't see any of the others for a long time after that, apart from Karkat, but even when he comes over the two often find themselves sitting in silence for a long time. Then it's almost the end of summer, and Vriska calls to ask if he wants to come over. He goes.  
There's not many people at her house. Equius and Nepeta are sat on one sofa discussing my little pony, and Kanaya's there, though her and Rose leave together after a little while. And Terezi's there, of course; she seems to be everywhere that Vriska goes at the moment. It's oddly silent in Vriska's house, and Dave hates it. It's strange how the loss of just one person has created such a huge hole in everything he's ever known. But that's just the way of life, he supposes.  
He talks to Terezi for a while, telling her all about the latest pages of his Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff comics he's been writing, because of course, she can't read them herself. And she makes halfhearted attempts at laughter at the jokes, but nothing feels right. That's when the argument breaks out. He's not sure who starts it, but one minute Vriska and Equius are talking calmly, and the next second there's shouting filling the room.

"Why was Aradia in the road, Vriska?" Equius shouts, "Nepeta told me it's because you told her to be there."  
"I didn't say that! Not in that way!" Nepeta protests, hiding her face in her hands.  
Vriska just sighs, and hangs her head. "It was an accident," she sighs, "It's not like I fucking pushed her into the road or anything. It was just part of the game. The car was speeding, I didn't see it coming, none of us did. Couldn't get her out of the way in time." The lack of life and emotion in her voice is shocking. Vriska's never been a quiet person, or one who's good at hiding their feelings. Now, she just sounds empty inside.  
"It's not the first time though, is it?" Equius says, "These games always end in disaster. I warned you about this after Tavros. As an older kid here, I have to keep you lot out of danger, Vriska. And this is getting ridiculous! Who's next? You won't stop until it's someone you actually carte about."  
"I do care about Aradia! More than you know!" Vriska suddenly screams, a little of her usual self starting to creep back into her voice, "You're just mad because you had a crush on Aradia and were too much of a coward to tell her." It's a low blow, and Equius lets out an angry roar before storming out of the house. Nepeta quickly rushes after him, shooting an apologetic glance at the others as she goes. Dave winces, knowing Vriska shouldn't have said that, but he's too intrigued by what Equius said to focus on anything else.  
"What happened to Tavros?" Dave asks as he's left alone with Vriska.  
"You don't know?" Vriska asks, "Huh. We were playing a game at the beach. Me, Tavros, Aradia, Terezi and Nepeta. We were on the cliffs, and Tavros and I were just joking around. Just pushing each other jokingly, you know?" She starts to tear up, and rubs at her eyes quickly. "He just... he just fucking slipped. I don't even remember how. He was just suddenly falling, and then he was fucking paralysed! And people said it wasn't my fault but... it was, wasn't it?"  
"I don't think so," Dave says with a shake of his head, "Like you said, it wasn't on purpose." He's never asked about Tavros's injuries before, and the story's shocked him slightly, but he tries to keep calm, just to not upset her anymore.  
"Some people," she says, nodding her head in the direction of where Equius was previously sitting, "Seem to think I' doing this one purpose. But I'm really fucking not. I don't know why it keeps happening. I didn't want her to die, Dave. I really didn't."  
"I know, Vris," he murmurs quietly. Because he still remembers how much she was screaming that day. And he knows she's more upset than she seems to be letting on.  
After a few moments, she gets up, and he isn't sure what she's doing until she gestures for him to follow her as she heads out into the garden. 

The two of them settle on the bench in the garden. It's starting to get a little dark outside, a few stars gradually appearing.  
"She loved the stars," Vriska mumbles, obviously looking at the same sky as Dave, "My mom always told me that when people die, they become stars. I think Aradia would have liked that. I think she would have liked the live for longer as well though." Dave nods silently, watching as she produces something from her pocket. It's a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. "You smoke?" She asks, lighting one up and letting it hang from the corner of her mouth.  
"Nah," Dave says.  
She nods to herself, then takes a long drag from the cigarette and blows the smoke out into the cool air. "Guess now you know how shitty our group really is," Vriska says with a sigh, "That's why people are so weird around us, I guess."  
"It's not your fault, not anyone's fault really," Dave shrugs, "Just life, isn't it?"  
"I guess," she sighs, blowing out another plume of smoke. He watches for a second, and then realises how late it's getting.  
"I should go, Vris," he says with a sigh, "My family will be wondering where I am."  
"Yeah, see ya," she mutters quietly, not even turning to look at him as he gets to his feet. As he leaves her house, he begins to wonder if things are ever going to go back to exactly how they were after all of this.


	4. Chapter 4

It's three months since Aradia' death, and things still aren't back to normal. Equius and Nepeta have had so many arguments that they've both drifted away from the group to try and stop things between them falling apart completely, Sollux has been keeping himself to himself mostly, not wanting to talk to anyone, and several others have gone off to do their own things, including Tavros and Gamzee, who are apparently dating now and spend most of their time alone together. Dave meets up with Vriska occasionally to talk to her, and he sees Kanaya all the time, as she's at his house with Rose almost always. Mostly he just spends time with Karkat, though.

They're having a sleepover, just the two of them, at Dave's house one night, relaxing on beanbags in the corner of Dave's room and watching a movie, when Karkat sits up as the credits roll and clears his throat. Dave, knowing that's a sign that Karkat's got something to say, hits pause, turns to him, and nods ever so slightly for him to speak.  
"Hey, um, we're friends, right?" Karkat asks quietly.  
"Yeah, course," Dave replies, raising one eyebrow. He's not sure why Karkat's asking, but he stays silent, sure that Karkat's got more to say.  
"Okay, good," Karkat says, nervously pulling at the long sleeve of his sweater. "Umm... I wanna tell you something."  
"Go ahead, dude," Dave says with a nod. He shifts slightly, sitting up a little on his beanbag chair so he can look Karkat in the eyes properly, because this sounds like it's going to be important, whatever it is that Karkat's got to say.  
"Okay," Karkat says, taking a deep breath, and glancing away nervously, "I was talking to Kanaya about this for a long time, and I think I've worked it out... maybe. And I just don't really want this to change anything between us, and I don't think it will, because I know you're not an asshole. But... I'm scared."  
"Seriously, just tell me. Not gonna hate you, alright?" Dave encourages him gently.  
"Yeah, I know. It's silly," Karkat mumbles, looking down at his hands. "I think... I think I'm gay. Or bi? I don't know but... shit I feel like an idiot." He drops his head down into his hands, burying his fingers in his hair to tug at it slightly in distress, and lets out a choked noise.  
"Aww shit," Dave mutters, and then shifts a little closer to Karkat to put a hand on his back gently, "Hey, you know I don't care. Dude I literally come from a family of gay people, I'm not going to think any less of you for not being straight."  
Karkat lifts his head, rubs at teary eyes, and lets out a shaky breath. "I knew you wouldn't," he says quietly, "But I was just scared about what I would do if you did react badly."  
"Would never do that," Dave says, moving his arm further around Karkat and then pulling him closer to his side, "We're best bros, dude. Nothing's gonna change that."  
"Thank you," Karkat murmurs, before leaning sideways against Dave's side.  
"No problem, my dude," Dave says quietly. He leans to rest his chin on top of Karkat's head, his messy hair tickling his jaw, and lets out a small, relaxed sigh. And, with Karkat tucked comfortably against his chest, the two of them stay like that for a while.  
"Not gonna tell the others yet," Karkat mumbles , voice muffled, "Don't even really know what to tell them yet. Don't tell them, please?"  
"Of course I won't," Dave says. Karkat doesn't even need to ask him that; he'd never tell anyone that Karkat didn't want to know. Karkat murmurs a quiet 'thank you' and then falls silent again.  
Eventually, Karkat shuffles out of Dave's arms to sit back on his own beanbag, and Dave manages to change the subject by putting on another movie. They both fall asleep at some point during the movie, and when Dave's wakes up, it's early morning, his laptop has automatically shut down over night, and Karkat has rolled over on the pile of beanbags in the night to lay a little closer to Dave's side. And, when he realises Karkat's still fast asleep, Dave manages to move his arm out from where it's crushed under Karkat's body, and puts it around Karkat's shoulders instead, hand resting on his side gently. Karkat wakes up a while later, and Dave moves away before Karkat can notice or mention how close together they are.

Over the next few months, Karkat starts to slowly come out to the rest of their friends, and luckily every one's perfectly fine with it, which makes Dave far too happy. Seeing Karkat being so much happier and prouder of himself than usual makes Dave feel something he can't quite describe. He's just so glad to see Karkat looking happy for once.  
And then, at some point, Dave suddenly realises it's been a year since that first sleepover, and he can't believe everything that's happened. In fact, so much has happened that he doesn't really want to think about it. And then, just as he's realising this, Roxy and Dirk reveal that they'll be moving away, and Rose and Dave have to go with them.  
"I don't get it. Why?" Dave asks, "Why do we have to move?"  
"Because Roxy has to go back to college," Dirk says calmly, "And we have to support her, and stay together as a family."  
It takes Dave a few weeks to come to terms with it, and stop being angry at everyone and everything. Eventually, though, he has to tell Karkat.

"You're leaving?" Karkat practically screams when Dave tells him.  
"I know, dude, I really don't wanna," Dave sighs, leaning down to rest his head in his hands, "But... I can't do anything to stop it. Roxy's going to college in a different state, and we've gotta go with her."  
"But... but..." Karkat mumbles, and then Dave looks up and realises his friend is crying.  
"Hey, it's okay," he says, scooting over on the bed so he's sat a little closer to Karkat and pulling him into a hug, "We have phones and stuff, we'll stay friends."  
"It's not that... I... you wouldn't understand, don't worry about it," Karkat says, and gets to his feet, shrugging Dave's arm away from him, "I've gotta go, Kankri's making dinner and I can't be late. See you tomorrow." He rushes from the room before Dave can say anything, rubbing at his face, and a few seconds later Dave hears the apartment door slam shut behind him. he drops his head back into his hands and tries not to cry.

He tells the rest of them the next day. They're sad, of course, and he gets a viciously tight hug from Vriska a while afterwards when the rest of the group aren't watching. He laughs as a few blue strands of her hair blow into his face, and pats her back awkwardly as they step away from each other. She's kinda nice, when she's not keeping up her cool kid facade, kind of like him, he guesses.   
What's left of the group meets up the week before Dave and Rose are supposed to move away, and they try to celebrate and have fun. And for one last day, it's sort of like everything's back to normal.

Then it's Dave's last night.

"I... I can't believe it's your last night," Karkat mumbles. The two of them are sat on Karkat's bed, blankets around their shoulders, watching a movie on his laptop as usual, but thing's feel different. Tomorrow, Dave's moving away to another state, and there's a chance they'll never see each other again. Though they've promised to stay friends, neither of them are idiots, and they know that friendships don't always last when people move apart.  
"I know," Dave sighs softly, "Let's just try and enjoy it."  
"Yeah," Karkat hums softly, leaning a little closer to the laptop screen. He pulls his blanket tighter around his shoulders, and tucks his knees up to his chest so he's curled into a small ball. They stay silent for the rest of the movie, both of them wanting to say things but neither of them feeling able to.  
When the movie comes to an end, Karkat slowly stretches out his arms and legs, and suggests, "Hey, should we got out into the garden? Like we did on that night we met at Vriska's house."  
Dave smiles faintly. "Yeah," he smiles, getting up of of the bed, "Yeah, that sounds good."

They go downstairs, realising how late it is when they notice that all of Karkat's family are already asleep. Out in the garden, it's cold, but both of them still have their blankets around their shoulders, and huddle into them as they sit down on the edge of the patio. There's a few moments of silence, and then Karkat slowly leans sideways to rest his head on Dave's shoulder.  
"I'm really going to miss you," Karkat says quietly, "I... it's not fair."  
"I know," Dave replies.  
"No, you don't," Karkat says, "You really don't."  
"Then tell me," Dave murmurs, "What's up?"  
Karkat sits up a little straighter, looks at Dave with wide eyes, and then bursts into tears. "It's just not fair! You're like the best friend I'e ever had, and we've only known each other for like a year, and now I'm losing you! And... and I..." he trails off again, rubbing at his eyes.  
"Hey dude, it's okay," Dave says, "It sucks I know."  
Karkat lowers his head again, and then quietly mumbles something to himself. "Why did I have to fall for you?" He mutters.  
"What?" Dave asks. He heard that, but he doesn't quite want to believe that he did.  
"I said I'm fucking in love with you, you idiot!" Karkat snaps, "But of course you had to be straight, and you're moving away!" He's crying again, and Dave doesn't know what to say, but thinks he should probably say something. He opens his mouth, attempting to say something, but he's silenced by Karkat leaning forward and crushing his lips against Dave's.  
"What are you doing?" Dave mumbles as Karkat pulls away. He raises a hand gently to touch his lips, not quite sure what's going on and feeling like he's just gone into some weird sort of dream.  
"I'm sorry," Karkat murmurs, "I just... I don't know. I'm sorry."  
"Well I am straight," Dave sighs. Because he is, right? "And I have to leave tomorrow. But..." He wonders about what to do for a second, and then, and he has no idea why (because he's straight. He's straight), he leans forwards and this time it's him that kisses Karkat.  
Instantly, Karkat reaches out to pull Dave closer to him, clutching a handful of Dave's hair in one hand and tugging on it slightly as he leans further into the kiss. Karkat let's out a small gasp as Dave pulls him into his lap and continues to kiss him. Eventually, Dave suddenly realises what he's doing, and quickly pulls back, and when Karkat tries to lean back towards him he gently pushes him back.  
"Dude, I really am straight," he mutters. But even as he's saying it, he doubts it. Because he really wants to kiss Karkat again, but he knows he really shouldn't let himself do that. Because all of this is just making the fact that he has to leave even harder.  
"Yeah, I know," Karkat replies, covering his face to hide how much he's blushing. "It's late, you should probably go."  
Dave looks over at his friend with a small sigh. "Yeah, I should." Karkat's still perched in Dave's lap, legs on either side of Dave's, and he goes to shuffle backwards as Dave starts to move. "Karkat," Dave says quietly, "Stay in contact, yeah?"  
Karkat looks up slowly, and nods. "Yeah, promise," he murmurs. Dave starts to stand up, and then loses control of what he's doing, and leans back down to quickly kiss Karkat again. As he does so, he runs one hand over Karkat's head softly, smoothing down his messy hair, and then he gets to his feet to leave.  
"Bye," Dave says quietly as he walks away, leaving Karkat's garden through the side gate so he doesn't have to go through the house.  
"Bye," Karkat calls after him quietly.  
When he gets out onto the street, Dave quickly pulls his shades off and wipes at his eyes roughly. He doesn't know how he feels about Karkat anymore, but he can't focus on it right now. He's moving away from Karkat anyway, and he's got more to worry about right now. Or at least, that's what he tells himself.

The next morning, Dave's up early, packing up the last few things into his boxes, when he gets a text from Karkat wishing him a safe travel. He calls him, and the two talk as Dave puts his stuff into the car. Neither of them mention the night before, and that's probably for the best. Then Dave's being called down to the car by his family, and he says one last goodbye to Karkat before he hurries downstairs, taking one last look at his old home as he leaves.  
"Alrighty team! All ready to go?" Roxy declares once they're all in the car. There's a small 'yes' from Dirk, and two grumbling noises from Dave and Rose. Roxy turns to look back at them. "I'm sorry you guys, really I am," she says softly, "But this is really important for me, and we're gonna make this a fun family adventure, I promise you." She gives them a hopeful smile and a thumbs up, and eventually the two return the gesture reluctantly.

They drive out of town slowly, and Dave sends a selfie to Karkat from the back of the car, trying to pretend everything's okay. They take one last stop at the top of the hill before the end of class, at the cemetery where Aradia's buried. Dave has no idea what;s happening until they get there, but apparently Rose does, because she produces a bunch of dark red roses from a bag and hops out of the car quickly. Dave watches, confused, but follows his family out of the car and up to the grave. There's someone there when they get there, knelt by the gravestone. She looks up as they approach, narrows her eyes for a second, then gets to her feet and nods as they approach. It's Aradia's older sister, Damara, and she doesn't say much as they go over to Aradia's grave.   
"Thank you for being a good friend to my sister," she says quietly, turning to leave already. Dave watches her walk away, her black her blowing around her gently in the wind, and by the time he turns back to his family, Rose is laying the flowers onto her grave. She murmurs something quietly before getting back up to her feet, and then nods for Dave to take her place. So he crouches by the gravestone, rests his hand gently on top of it, and forces him to smile softly.  
"Thanks, Aradia, you really did change my life," he says quietly, patting the stone, that's already turning warm in the sunlight. Then he stands back up, and instantly Roxy links her arm through his."  
"To a new life?" She asks as they step towards the car.  
"Yeah, a new life," he mutters. The thing is, he's really not sure he wants to leave this all behind. And as they drive away, he's got no idea if he's going to go back there ever again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's set a couple of years in future, apparently I didn't make that super obvious at the start of the chapter, so sorry about that!

It's snowing, and has been for hours with no sign of stopping any time soon. There's snow covering everything, and the sun shining off of it is ridiculously bright, even through Dave's shades. He draws his arms around himself as he walks, shivering in the cold and wishing he'd worn thicker clothing underneath his jacket. When he finally gets to his destination, the local library, he hurries inside, grateful for the warmth within, and stomps snow from his boots off of on the old welcome mat by the door. He shakes loose snowflakes out of his hair as he walks through the shelves of books, shuddering uncomfortably as some melt and drops of cold water run down his back.  
Even so, he appreciates the library; the silence, the shadows amongst the shelves and the smell of old pages makes the place feel comforting, and safe, in a way. He takes his time in the familiar aisles, picking out the books he needs for his university classes and peering curiously at others that he just thinks might be interesting. As he's staring at one shelf of books, running the his fingers along the spines of book, someone else steps into the aisle. He glances over, sees that they're paying no attention to him, and goes back to his own browsing. But he can't help feeling that he's being watched, and continuously glances at the other man, though each time he looks, the other is looking away. With a small sigh, he plucks a book off of the shelf, adds it to the pile in his arms, and then walks quickly past the other man and out towards the front desk. But, as he walks that way, he's stopped by a voice.  
"Dave Strider?" The voice calls, and he knows it came from that man behind him. So he was being watched. Turning slowly on his heel, he looks at the other man, wondering if it's someone from one of his classes. There is definitely something familiar about him, he just can't work out what it is. Short, messy black hair, slighlty grumpy expression....  
"Karkat?" The name suddenly comes to Dave's head, and he blurts it out, before putting a hand across his mouth quickly.  
"It is you!" The man grins, and yeah, that's definitely Karkat.  
"Holy shit dude, I haven't seen you in years!" Dave says far too excitedly, and then winces when a few people in the library glare in his direction. Karkat obviously sees the same thing, and catches Dave's eye before pulling a face. Dave laughs softly. Then the two of them walk up to the front desk side by side to check out their books. Karkat's got a stack of romance novels; typical.

"You free now?" Dave asks as they both stroll out of the library together. He hasn't seen Karkat in ages, and there's no way he's letting him get away again so quickly.  
"Yeah," Karkat replies with a smile.  
"Cool," Dave says, trying to hide his excitement and failing royally. "Wanna go get coffee?"  
"Yes please I am fucking freezing," Karkat declares. So Dave leads him down the road towards his favourite coffee shop nearby. Karkat's huddled in a long grey coat, with a slightly darker grey scarf looped loosely around his neck, and Dave can't help looking over at him as they walk. He's... really cute.  
When they get into the coffee shop, they order coffee, and Dave insists on paying for Karkat's coffee, because he's a gentleman, obviously. Then they sit down at a table by the window, and Dave sits clutching at his warm coffee and watching the snow fall outside.  
"Hey, so, how come I haven't heard from you in like a year?" Karkat asks, "I mean, Rose and Kanaya are dating... you think we'd have seen each other."  
Dave sighs heavily. He's spent the last few years trying to do anything but think about his old friends, and everything that happened between him and Karkat on that last night in his old town. "I'm sorry, dude, it was just... I dunno, I was just..." He trails off slowly.  
"It's okay, I get it," Karkat says, "So, anyway, how are you?"  
"I'm good," Dave smiles softly. He leans back in his seat, takes a sip of coffee, and lets himself just enjoy talking to Karkat. "Hey, we really should stay in contact this time, yeah?" He suggests after a while, "I'm real sorry for being a dick about it last time."  
Karkat nods, biting at his lip slightly in a way that's far too adorable. "I know we're both kinda not talking about it but, I wanna say sorry about what I did on your last night," he sighs, "It wasn't right. I knew you were straight and I shouldn't have...."  
"Gonna stop you there," Dave says, holding up a hand with a sigh, "I'm actually bi, it turns out. Had a bit of a sexuality crisis after I moved house. So, yeah, don't feel bad. You were just a kid with feelings."  
"Oh," Karkat says, "Okay." He takes a long sip of coffee, and then shakes his head as if to clear it, before changing the subject and asking Dave about his life now. Dave's glad for the distraction.

When they eventually decide to leave the coffee shop later, they walk back towards the library slowly, both of them trying to keep talking as long as possible before one of them as to leave.  
It's as they're about to part ways that Karkat clears his throat nervously, and says "Hey Dave. What if I never stopped having those feelings?"  
"What?" Dave asks, slightly confused.  
"I mean... what would you say if I told you I still liked you... like that?" Karkat looks down at his feet, and kicks at a lump of snow instead of making eye contact with Dave.  
Dave stares for a few seconds, not quite believing what he's hearing. Here's his old childhood friend, looking even cuter now than he did when they were younger. "I'd say... will you go on a date with me?" Dave blurts out eventually.  
Karkat looks up, and a grin slowly spreads across his face. "I'd love that," he murmurs. Then he reaches into his pocket, takes out his phone, and says, "I'll give you my number, yeah?"  
"Yeah," Dave grins, putting his number into his own phone. "You free this Saturday?"  
"I am."  
"Great, it's a date," Dave smirks. Karkat rolls his eyes slightly, but is unable to keep the smile off his face as he forces himself to finally leave Dave and go back to his own car. Dave stands in the street alone for a second, staring down at Karkat's number on his phone, then grins to himself as he hurries away towards his own home.

Saturday rolls around, and Karkat turns up at Dave's apartment early in the evening.  
"Nice place," he says as he's let in, looking around.  
"Thanks," Dave mutters, "Moved here a couple months ago. My roommate John's out, so you don't have to worry about any encounters with him."  
Karkat laughs softly. "I'm sure it would be fine," he says, "You've probably got good taste in roommates.  
"Like I've got good taste in boys?" Dave asks, waggling his eyebrows. Karkat shoves him backwards by the shoulders, and Dave quickly reaches out to grab onto Karkat's arms, grappling with him and pull him back towards him.  
"Fuck off, Strider," Karkat mutters, wriggling out of his grip and taking a few steps back. His cheeks are flushed slightly, and Dave grins at the sight o it,  
"To dinner?" He suggests.  
"Yeah!" Karkat grins, and as they leave the apartment he eagerly lets Dave take hold of his hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing his hand softly.

Dinner's a great time, and Dave enjoys spending more time with Karkat. He remembers exactly why they were friends as kids. And when they leave the restaurant and get back into Dave's slightly shitty car, Dave instantly leans across the car to kiss Karkat. The other man lets out a squeak of surprise against Dave's lips, and then leans further forward to melt into him. When Dave finally pulls back, not moving too far but far enough that he can look at Karkat's face properly, he sees that he's blushing and panting very slightly.  
"Should've done this when we were younger," Dave mutters.  
Karkat raises a hand to touch his lips very slightly. "Yeah, yeah we should've," he mutters, and then leans forward to kiss Dave again, a little rougher this time. Dave lets out a noise he's slightly embarrassed of when Karkat groups and pulls at his hair very slightly, and he feels Karkat's laugh on his face.  
"Shut up," Dave mutters, embarrassed, and pushes Karkat back slightly.  
"Whatever," Karkat laughs softly, leaning back and settling himself more comfortably in his car seat, "You're super cute, you know?"  
"Not too bad looking yourself," Dave mutters, turning on the engine and pulling out into the road, very aware of a group of girl's who've been watching them from the sidewalk. They drive in silence for a while, the only sound that Dave can hear being Karkat breathing slightly heavier than usual, and his own heart racing a little. When they stop at a red light, he reaches out to put one hand on top of Karkat's knee gently. Karkat moves his own hand on top of Dave's, running his thumb across his knuckles.  
"Really glad we met each other again," Karkat says quietly.  
In the darkness inside the car, lit only by the traffic lights and headlights of passing cars on the other side of the road, Dave turns to look at the way that Karkat's eyes are wide and glinting slightly.  
"Yeah, so am I," he mumbles. There's a warm feeling in his stomach that he doesn't quite recognise, but he decides he likes it.

It's been three months since that date.  
Dave wakes up, blinking his heavy eyes as he tries to work out where he is. Looking down, he finds himself with his face buried in a head of messy black hair, and realises Karkat's curled up tightly against his chest. Then he remembers the night before. Then he remembers what today is.  
"Karks," he hisses, shaking the smaller boy awake, "Karks, wake up."  
"No, five more minutes," Karkat groans sleepily.  
"No, come on, it's Aradia's birthday," Dave says, "We said we'd go visit her grave, remember?"  
"Ugh," Karkat says, but he's already sitting up, a little more alert now. He sits up slowly and stretches out his arms, looking over at Dave from under heavy eyelids. His hair's even messier than it usually is, sticking up in every direction after a night of restless sleep, and he looks adorable as he peeks up from under a lock of hair that's fallen over his eyes. With a smile, Dave leans forwards and kisses him gently.  
"Come on, we gotta get ready," Dave mumbles, leaning his forehead forward against Karkat's.  
"Okay," he whines softly, even though he's currently winding his arms around Dave's waist and pulling him closer to his chest. Dave enjoys the embrace for a few seconds, before untangling himself from his boyfriend's arms and slowly getting out of bed.  
Together the two head down to the kitchen, tiredly making breakfast and exchanging small, lazy kisses as they move around the kitchen. It's a perfect, peaceful morning, despite both of them knowing what today is, and Dave can't help feeling like the luckiest person on Earth as he watches his tired boyfriend pull faces as he burns his tongue on coffee.  
"What?" Karkat asks, looking up and noticing Dave staring.  
"You're cute," Dave tells him.  
"Urgh, go get ready, you sappy piece of shit," Karkat says, screwing up his nose. Dave laughs, leans forwards to press a kiss to Karkat's adorable scrunchy nose, and then rushes away out of the kitchen with a giggle as Karkat shouts a stream of halfhearted insults in his direction.

Driving back into his old town is super strange, especially as he's doing it whilst sat in the back of a car, holding Karkat's hand. Rose is driving, Kanaya napping in the front passenger seat behind her, and the group are mostly silent as they approach the cemetery. Dave stays close to Karkat's side as they get out of the car and approach the grave, their hands entwined as they walk. Kanaya and Rose are slightly ahead of them, holding hands too and talking quietly amongst themselves.  
There's already a group gathered at the grave when they get there. He recognises them all right away, despite how long it's been since he saw all of them. Vriska and Terezi are sat side by side, chatting to each other, Gamzee and Tavros are together at the edge of the group, and Sollux is a little closer to the gravestone. Feferi and Eridan are there too, and Aradia's older sister, Damara. Even Equius and Nepeta. In fact, Dave can't think of a single person from their old group that isn't there.  
Every single one of them looks as the group of four approach. Rose and Kanaya have been openly dating for a while now, and no one's surprise, but the sight of Dave and Karkat's linked hands causes a small commotion amongst the group. Terezi instantly demands to know what's happening, and when she's told she instantly whistles.  
"I hate you all," Karkat declares, "Apart from you, Aradia, still the best," he adds as lightheartedly as possible, resting a hand on top of the grave. Dave knows that the rest of them come here a lot more than he does, and he does find it a little weird how comfortable and happy they all seem up here. It's comforting though, and he smiles softly to himself as he sits down on the grass with Karkat. The conversation inevitably turns to him and Karkat's relationship, and Dave sighs softly, letting Karkat tell the whole story, because he loves to tell it as the hopeless romantic he is.  
By the time the end of the day rolls around, Dave's feeling happier than he'd expected to, and it feels so good to have spent some time with his old friends.

The two of them go back to Karkat's family house that night, to stay over there before they drive back the next day. Dave gets quizzed by Kankri on whether he's looking after Karkat, and then he's dragged outside into the garden by Karkat to save him from that situation.  
"Remember that night here?" Karkat asks as they sit out in the garden, "God, I still feel like an idiot for kissing you."  
"I thought it was kinda adorable," Dave shrugs. He reaches out to put a hand on Karkat's leg, and then leans in to kiss him.  
"You're adorable," Karkat tells him, squishing Dave's face between his hands before he leans back into to kiss him again.  
"You're family are gonna see us," Dave breathes quietly.  
"Ugh, who cares, we're leaving tomorrow anyway. I'll just block Kankri's phone number," Karkat replies with a shrug. Dave laughs softly, pulling Karkat against his chest and resting his chin on top of his head gently. They stay like that for a while, until the garden gets too cold, and then they head inside.

"It's like being kids again," Dave mutters as they curl up together on Karkat's bed, pulling a blanket up over them as they huddle together.  
"It's better than being kids again," Karkat replies, bumping his forehead against Dave's gently, "Cos this time I've got you."  
"You always did," Dave smiles, kissing Karat's cheek gently. And as he lays there in Karkat's arms in the silence of the room, Dave can't help smiling to himself as he thinks about Aradia. She'd be proud, and happy for them, he thinks.  
"What you thinking about?" Karkat asks, "Can practically hear you thinking."  
"Nothing important," Dave hums quietly, "Just... you know... I love you a lot."  
Karkat's silent for a second. "I really do love you too," he says eventually, and Dave lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. He ducks his head down to kiss Karkat, hands wrapping tighter around Karkat's waist.  
His childhood feels so far away, and everything's changed so much, but in that moment, Dave's never felt happier in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end!! I don't think I quite like the ending, and this isn't where I thought it was going to end up going, but I hope you like it!


End file.
